Could Sir Keir Starmer be heading for his 14th U-turn in just 18 months? My hunch is yes.
Earlier this month, the Home Secretary announced a major shake-up of Britain’s immigration system, aiming to clamp down on the number of legal and illegal migrants coming to the UK.
The wide-ranging package of measures included a plan to double the time it takes most migrants to gain permanent residency rights in the UK from five to 10 years. In the case of refugees it could take 20 years.
It’s fair to say that the Home Secretary invested significant political capital into the policy: she predicted that Labour MPs would push back – which they did, and hard – but she insisted that the public was on her side and that it would be wrong to back down.
She even went as far as to visit Denmark, which has adopted a similar policy, and spoke in glowing terms of what she saw there.
Presumably, when she made the announcement, the Prime Minister was on side. She is, after all, his Home Secretary.
Sir Keir Starmer was previously in lockstep with his Home Secretary
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PA
His support, however, is now looking rather wobbly.
When asked repeatedly for assurance that the Prime Minister still backed Shabana Mahmood’s plan to toughen the “indefinite leave to remain” criteria, the Government’s spokesman repeatedly refused to say, stating only that the Government is committed to a “fair” immigration system.
A member of the military at passport control at Manchester airport as they cover for striking Border Force officers | PA
When pressed, he simply said that the Government would not get ahead of a consultation process.
Why the sudden change of heart?
Perhaps it has something to do with a certain former deputy leader of the Labour Party and her waspish comments at an event well-attended by the British media last night.
In a speech widely deemed to be a pitch for the leadership of the Labour Party, Angela Rayner criticised Shabana Mahmood’s proposals, saying that plans to make it harder for migrants already in the UK to settle permanently are “un-British” and a “breach of trust”.
Sir Keir Starmer and Shabana Mahmood have come under increasing pressure to get a grip of the small boats crisis | PA
Would Keir Starmer be willing to sell out his Home Secretary – and his robust immigration plans – in order to keep Angela Rayner sweet and avoid a leadership contest?
We will have to wait and see. But in the meantime, brace yourselves for a showdown between the Prime Minister and his Home Secretary.